SECOND SHIFT Music Series Concert: HAUNT the HOUSE

"The album gleams with a stirring, spiritually-inflected sound that well represents the band name on the marquee... Fans of Brown Bird, the Low Anthem, Iron & Wine, and Bon Iver should grab a copy of Jack Rabbit Jones ASAP." –– The Providence Phoenix

"His music is charged, not just with an aptitude for words and melodies, but with a deep feeling of soul." –– Jeff Prystowsky, The Low Anthem

"Originally the solo acoustic project of Will Houlihan, Haunt The House has recently expanded to something much bigger and bolder. On the recently released Jack Rabbit Jones, the full spectrum of folk instrumentation has joined in, with rapturous mandolin and accordion adding a spacious backdrop for Houlihan and a chorus of singers to cry, moan, plead and delight. This is the kind of music that the genre tag of Americana was custom-made for." –– Robert Hamm, Paste Magazine

A few years back Rhode Island musician Will Houlihan began performing under the name Haunt The House, sometimes solo and sometime with friends. From the start it was clear his songs are something special. They have some of the spiritual yearning you hear in old recordings of rural gospel groups, and some of the lost, lonesome sound of Appalachian songs as well. Like old folk tales, they seem rooted in ancient shared experience. And, like the songs of Hank Williams or Townes Van Zandt, they have a lived-in quality that’s characteristic of the best American roots music.

Houlihan spins his tales in a language so vivid that it comes as no surprise to learn he’s also a visual artist whose work mirrors the themes he explores in his songs. Its part of what makes them so compelling, and part of what makes Houlihan a musician to watch.

Houlihan has appeared in clubs and listening rooms throughout New England, and his set at the 2015 Newport Folk Festival introduced Haunt The House to a national audience.